As one of the means which includes a great effect of improving energy efficiency during operation of a plant (production apparatus), the plant and an automation system are designed to achieve the maximum energy efficiency prior to construction of the plant. Simulation using a virtual plant model is performed to optimize the design for energy efficiency.
As a technique related to an energy related system, Patent Document 1 discloses an energy management system including a data holder for collecting and preserving “energy consumption data” in “data related to energy efficiency”. Patent Document 2 discloses an energy monitoring system having a function of collecting data from a power monitor and grouping the data. Patent Document 3 discloses a plant information management apparatus which manages a data group related to a plant in correlation with a “unit”.